A massive pang of nostalia hit me watching this,i used to regularly work on class 305 308s 307s 302 EMUs in an out of London Liverpool Street From Southend Victoria in the 1980s to 1990s,the sound of the compressors thumping away under the floors the loud crack of the circuit breakers in the gaurds compartment as we went between neutral sections,the smell of the carriages and the brakes as they came on,the whine of the motors speeding up the doors slamming the two bells right away! lovely days"
My first experience of the freedom of rail travel was the old slam door EMUs and thumpers. There was something comforting about the clattery carriages and a wood lined guards van where you could put your bike.
That was back in the day when the station announcements were pre-recorded. You'll notice that they never announce the departure time, just the platform and destinations. That lady's voice could be heard at many many stations across the southern region.
John C. Earwicker Solid State Announcements we used to call them. Clips of everything are stored on a PROM chip and it selects the bits that are needed and plays them in order. The woman (can’t remember her name) worked for a company called Ditra Systems and they recorded all the voice clips and supplied all the equipment (or a lot of it)
the 465 was propbably on mileage accumilation like some of the trains are doing these days even running where they wont end up being. could also be driver training
